Every New Writer's Journey

Learning New Lessons

2009-06-10T05:19:00.000-07:00

Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes you’ve sent me. I’m now in the middle of my week of being a full-time writer, and enjoying every minute. Outside the storm clouds are gathering while in my writing room the sweet music of Medwyn Goodall’s Merlin can be heard along with the sound of birds outside.

I have hot tea at hand and my dear husband has left me a supply of biscuits so if any of you would like to drop by to share a cuppa and a few biscuits with Orocarni (view picture to right of my cave dragon) and me, please do so.

My rewriting is progressing steadily and I’m very pleased with the results so far. My total stands at 71,518 words done out of 90,000. This is the first draft of my rewrite, though on saying that I have been polishing as I work through it.

I have made a phone call to a publishing company who got in contact with me after I had sent them my first three chapters etc in July 2008. At the time, the company was interested in reading my complete MS, but because I listened to others, who told me they knew best, I ignored the publishing company and never got back in contact with them. While sorting out my rejection letters and publishing guidelines, I came across the letter and thought, I would give the company a ring and ask them whether they are a vanity publishing company or not.

I had a very interesting chat with Mister David Newstead (Editorial) who explained how the company of Pegasus works and he told me that they see the company as being a mainstream company. If they feel your work does have a commercial value then they will pay you for your book. If not, they do have a scheme where they pay a percentage as well as the writer for the book to be published, but it is up to the writer whether they take up the offer or not.

I feel the lesson to be learnt here is, if you are not sure about anything the best thing to do apart from your own homework, is to phone up the company yourself, and ask them.

After our chat, Mister Newstead was nice enough to say my book sounded very interesting, and when I’ve finished rewriting it, please would I send it into them so he could have a chance to have a look at it for himself. So I’ve added his company’s name to my ever-growing list of agents and publishers I shall be sending my newly written novel to, in August.

So remember my fellow scribblers, do your homework before you send off your manuscripts and find out as much as you can about the companies you want to deal with, from as many different sources as possible. From not only writing forums and websites, but writer’s directories and telephone books as well as talking to published writers who write in the same genre as yourself. Ask as many questions as you can, and never be afraid of phoning up and asking the company itself , after all it is your book, and you only want the best for all those years of hard work you put into it.

There is only one golden rule in writing: never put your hand in your pocket unless you want to, or, only ,if it is to pocket your royalty cheque.

Best wishes from a busy writer,

I've reach half century....

2009-06-06T17:21:00.000-07:00

Today, I reached half a century. Wow, and I’m still here loving life. When I see the old gentleman who lived through the First World War and survived to be 113, I realise how much living is still before me if I’m as lucky as he is, but unlike him I haven’t had to watch my friends die during such a terrible time.

My life has been pretty straightforward leaving school, working, getting married, buying a house, raising kids etc. things that get taken for granted, and we see as being our rights without thinking about who has died fighting to give us our freedom to live as we choose.

On this day when I look back over my life and I remember my good and bad times I shall spare a thought for those men and women who fought and died ten years before I was born, who gave up their lives to free the world from the madness of the Second World War.

Peace to you all, my dear readers.

Annie

Well, I never.....

2009-05-29T14:55:00.000-07:00

Guess what, my dear readers my grammar and spelling is good! Now to some of you this may not be seen as being headline-making news, but to me, it is amazing to see it in black and white.

I’m sure I have told you all before that 10 years ago I couldn’t put a sentence together let alone write a short story. Today, I received a critique on one of my short stories; it has helped to boost my confidence 100% to see that I don’t have to worry about grammar and my spelling as much as I thought I did.

I hope soon I shall see a critique, which tells me that my grammar and spelling is very good or even better still excellent, but at least I still have something to aim for at the end of the day.

My work on rewriting my novel is going very well and I have come up with quite a few new scenes, which I’m very pleased about and eager to get writing as soon as possible. At work, I wrote down a list of questions I felt my readers would want to have answers to whether that is in this book or others in the series. I think by making the list it has helped me think a lot harder about my plotline.

Sometime back, I wrote a chapter-by-chapter breakdown of my novel and was surprised by how little my main character appeared in my novel. I use the chapter-by-chapter breakdown a lot now because it helps me to see the timeline, whose point of view is in play in which chapters and how much action is going on. By printing up the chapter-by chapter I can take it in to work with me and make notes of where I need to add more action or make other changes without printing up the whole book.

I’m sorry I haven’t been around as much as I would like to be, but I need to get my rewrite finished soon so I can start editing it again before I send it out to the list of agents I have drawn up.

Best wishes to you all and thank you for sharing a cuppa and a chat with me.

Annie

Prologue: Are they a waste of time?

2009-05-14T15:01:00.000-07:00

At work, I was excited when one of my colleagues asked if he could read a short extract from my book when Sue had finished with it. I was taken back when Sue, herself had asked me if I had any of my finished stories, she could take on holiday to read. I asked her how she felt about reading some of my novel and answering a short questionnaire to help me understand what she liked and disliked about the opening chapters.

She was more than happy to help and said, ‘yes’.
‘By the way, where are you going for your holiday?’ I asked thinking she must be having the odd day out if she was asking to read my novel.
‘Oh didn’t I say? I’m going on a cruise around the Mediterranean.
‘Will you have time to read my book?’
‘Yes, I like to read before going to bed.’

Well, my dear readers, as my novel is now sailing around the Mediterranean, I hope, one day it can afford to take me.

Now back to my question about prologues. As Sue was going to be away for a while, and David told me he was looking forward to reading my novel, so I thought I would make another copy and printed up the first four chapters and the prologue to give to him. You can imagine my surprise when he told me that he had read the first chapter and was now busy reading the second.
‘Oh,’ I said a little puzzled, ‘didn't you read the prologue?’
‘No,’ He said, ‘I never do read prologues in any books; I just like to get straight into the story.’

To my understanding, a prologue is the bit before all the characters take centre stage. It gives the reader a chance to understand something of what is about to happen without giving too much away and spoiling the main story.

Just as an epilogue is the bit when all the characters have left the main stage, and is there to tie up any loose ends.

So are they a waste of time, or an important stage setter?

Let's share something a little stronger today while we mull over the question of why someone would miss out part of the book without questioning why the writer had put it there first place.

Best wishes my dear readers and thank you for sharing your time with me.

Annie

I'm a Star Writer......

2009-05-07T14:43:00.000-07:00

Well, would you believe it...? After my rejection from PF, I'm now a star writer. If you remember, I wrote a posting about whether self-published writers are seen as real writers by the rest of the publishing world.

Just before, posting the article on my blog I thought I would send a copy to the ‘Writing Magazine’. Out of interest, I sent it to the editor to see what he would say about my points because it was too long for their letter page.

A few days later, I received an email from the editor asking if they could publish it in their magazine. Today, my copy of the Writing Magazine came with the Writers’ News. As I flicked through the Writer’s News, I saw my article was the star letter, and I’ve won a copy of the 2010 Writer’s Market Handbook with the heading I am a Writer. So my fellow bloggers, it is official, I am not only a writer, but also a star writer because I now have it in print. So just click on the letter page to be able to read my article. I've posted the letter page on here, because the magazine is only available by subscription with the Writing Magazine.

I'm feeling much more happier now and hope my luck will hold with my next writing project, my novel.

Best wishes to all my dear readers and thank you for sharing a cuppa.

Annie

I could scream and scream until I'm sick.....

2009-05-02T09:14:00.000-07:00

Taken by Annie Wicking.

I want to stand and scream my head off... another rejection! How many rejections can a writer take?

I resubmitted my short story to people’s friend after cutting the word count and rewriting the story, but still they said no politely, but still its no. Okay, I can live with that, I think.

But or should I say a big BUT... When you read the stories in PF there’s nothing to them so why does the editor say my plot is not as strong as it could have been. I know it is hard for you to see what they are talking about without having read my story.

I know too that I’m missing the point here somewhere; having done twee, straightforward, and plain stories maybe there’s a set of stories known as People’s Friend genre, which comes somewhere between the middle of gripping and gentle stories.

I’m frightened that if I make my stories too realistic that they will be wrong for them too. Oh, well another one to add to my growing collection of rejections. No one can say I don’t give it to you straight on this blog, no illusion or painted dreams of how easy it is to become a published writer.

Today when the post woman brought my rejection letter, I was busy in the garden in the early morning sunshine. I was edging my front lawn with some old bricks when a little Robin came down collecting insects to feed its young. Each time he returned, he came closer to me almost sitting on my knee as I turned the soil over with my trowel. I felt the Robin was testing my trust that I would do him no harm as he sat on the last brick I had added.

Maybe the Robin taught me something more than just learning to trust my natural instincts. With each visit, we grew closer to what we were aiming for as he filled his babies tummies and I a tidier garden. Therefore, with each new story I send out I’m coming closer to my final goal as long as I too trust my natural instincts and keep the faith.

I've been busy posting some of my work online to get feedback on rewritten novel, and someone compare my writing to James Herbert, and said I should be proud to list it under horror while another said, "It's scary and not for reading on your own at night."
I find this hard to believe as I didn't think I was writing a horror story, but hey James Herbert may not be Mr. King, but he's still pretty cool.

I hope you are all busy writing and having fun in your gardens too.

Have a great weekend and I hope to catch up with you all soon. I'm going back to my novel now as I hope to have it ready to send out to a publisher or agent by the end of July.

Best wishes, and thank you for sharing a cuppa and a chat.

Annie

Sophie Hannah

2009-04-26T14:16:00.000-07:00

Here is Sophie Hannah talking about her work. I'm sorry it just a short posting and I promise I'll be back with something longer soon. This weekend, I've been busy in my garden and working on my novel.

I hope everyone had a great weekend.

Best wishes,

Annie

A New Place for New Writers

2009-04-20T14:47:00.000-07:00

There's a new place for New Writers or for anyone who loves to scribble, make notes or write poetry or just loves writing. Well, here's the link

It's called the Writeup Cafe.

Meeting the Author: Sophie Hannah

2009-04-19T12:55:00.000-07:00

I’m sorry that it’s taken me sometime to write up my report on meeting Sophie Hannah, but all sorts of things have been happening to delay me.

To start with my sister came with me instead of my much beloved, no excuse I know but... Okay, just one too many buts, so I shall get to the point. Sophie Hannah wasn’t quite what I had been expecting, which isn’t such a bad thing. Both my sister and I had tried to read her books before we went; I had tackled two of her books before handing one over to my sister.

‘Hurting distance’ is about a woman whose married boyfriend suddenly disappears and she can’t get the police to investigate as his wife tells them he’s gone away. The question here is who are they more likely to believe the wife or the mistress? You must remember here it isn’t as if she’s a full-time mistress they only ever meet on a Thursday in a rundown motel and he doesn’t book it, he pays by cash and doesn’t stay all night.

Sophie Hannah takes a small everyday thought or idea and plays with it. From this, she is able to make the unbelievable, believable so you're left with no doubt it. In ‘Little Face’ her first novel, she took the experience of being a new mother and the emotions and feelings she had after giving birth for the first time then asked the question all writers must ask themselves ‘What if?’. What if a newborn baby is stolen not from the hospital, but from its home? After weeks of being shut up with her baby daughter, the mother takes a walk leaving the baby with its father. When she returns she finds the front door is open and her husband is watching the telly and never noticed anything, but when the new mum goes upstairs and finds someone else’s baby in the cot, she calls the police. She tries to explain that the baby isn’t theirs, but her husband tells the police it is their daughter. Whom are the police going to believe the mother or the husband? And why would anyone swap a baby?

What Sophie Hannah told us is she likes to deal in mysteries... Forget about the dead body in the library; just tell me the bit about whom, what, and why? Why did the person die? What was the story behind the death? Moreover, who are the people linked to the reason why the person is dead, in the first place? Forget about the forensics too many other writers are covering those details in their style of writing.

From the talk Sophie gave, I came away with three great pieces of advice. Believe in oneself totally, no matter what anyone tells you. Sophie started her writing career as a poet then wrote one or two books as a sort of romance comedy writer when she changed her style her agent wasn’t at all pleased and told her she knew best. So did Sophie give up and go back to scribbling books her agent knew would sell? No, Sophie changed her agent. She sent her MSS out to five different agents and said if she heard nothing or received rejections from them then she would know her book was rubbish and she was wrong. All five got back in contact with her and told her they loved it. Now she had a problem of deciding which one to go with.

After making her choice, Sophie found her problems didn’t end there, when, after six months of making changes to her manuscript the new agent had asked for, and still getting no further with her book, Sophie found herself losing heart with the new agent. The final straw came when the agent phoned Sophie and ask her to add a new character to her novel. Once again, Sophie said ‘No!’ and decided she needed a male agent because they will tell it to you straight, ‘Yes, I like it or No, I don’t’ and not keep fussing it about with change this or that.

Sophie said, “Yes, you need an agent, but you don’t need to stay with them if you’re not happy with them. If you feel strongly about your novel and it’s the very best you can make it, then you’ve got to find someone who believe as strongly in your work as you do.”

There was one other thing I learnt from Sophie Hannah after listening to her talk, I enjoy reading her books. When my sister and I left the hall after the talk had finished we both said we would give her books another go and I'm glad I did.

Best wishes to all my dear readers,

Annie

Interview: Writers’ online Q & A

2009-04-13T10:53:00.000-07:00

I was sent an email saying that I had been chosen to answers an online Q & A for writers after someone had read my blog. Now I'm not sure whether I wanted to sign up to the company or not, but still I thought I might as well start answering their questions just out of interest. Well, one never knows when one might be asked such questions in the future. Now I've decided to post them on my blog instead, I hope you enjoy reading my Q & A....

1) What did you first read? How did you begin to write & who were the first to read what you wrote?

Answer: The first books I read before I really started to write was as many books on ‘how to write’ I could get my hands on. This was mainly because I left school poorly educated and wanted to learn as much as I could about how to write, understand the workings of English grammar and to improve my writing skills.

I began by writing a small article on family history and this I was lucky enough to have published. After seeing my name in print, it gave me confidence to write something more in-depth and to try a large more mainstream magazine.

My husband, Russell is the first to read anything I’ve written, though I have a dear friend who I’ve known for many years and can trust to be brutally honest to tell me, if it is utter rubbish, she will tell me so. She’s an avid reader so she knows what she likes and dislikes in a book. In the world of publishing and writing, no one is going to pander to your ego and tell you its great just because you have written it and like to think it’s the best thing since sliced bread. If you want to make money from your writing, you must remember so does everyone else from your agent, publisher, and bookseller. I try to remind myself to write the very best I can, and see everyday as another day in, which I can refine my writing skills.

2) What is your favourite genre? Can you provide a link to a site where we can read some of your work or learn something about it?

Answer: I enjoy crime, but my main love is a book with a mystery. I have discovered a new writer called Sophie Hannah. Her books are wonderful and intriguing. I have a blog called ‘Every New Writer’s Journey’, which is found at http://anniewickingsjourney.blogspot.com/ I post about all sorts of thing to do with writing as well as my experience as a new writer and the problems I’m overcoming to get my work published. I would like my readers to see my blog as a shared journey rather than ‘read my blog I have all the answers to how to be come a published writer’. I think everyone’s journey will be different, interesting, and amazing too. Just like everyone’s writing style.

3) What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write?

Answer: The best time of the day for writing for me is the early morning. I like the quietness of time both in the house and outside. I make myself a drink then read back over what I have written the day before. I tend to work from notes I have made in longhand, which I write while working at my full-time job. At work, I write in my lunchtime and tea break onto a 4A notepad. In the mornings before going work, I print up what I’ve loaded on to my computer to read through at work. I find the break from the computer helps me to see things with a fresh eye.

4) What type of reading inspires you to write?

Answer: I’ve subscribed to a writing magazine and reading about other people's success keeps my ambition burning, I suppose, but I’m writing firstly for myself. Reading a well-written book with a great plot, believable characters, and wonderful setting inspires me to believe I could do the same, if I work hard at it.

5) What do you think are the basic ingredients of a story?

Answer: A well-written, intriguing tale, with believable characters that come alive on the page, so that the reader is unable to put the book down and by the end of book all they can do is talk about to everyone they meet.

6) What voice do you find most to your liking: first or third person?

Answer: I think it all depends on what sort of book I’m writing. If the story needed a single voice and to be told through just one character then I would use the first person, but overall I prefer to write in the third person as I find I have more scope.

7) What well know writers do you admire most?

Answer: P.D. James, who I’ve met at the Essex Book Festival, Barbara Erskine because her stories are so different, Sophie Hannah, award winning poet turned crime writer with a different and, Sarah Harrison, because she wished me all the best with my writing and I’ve never forgot how that made me feel.
Classic writers, Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker, and D.H Lawrence are among a few of my favourite writers.

8) What is required for a character to be believable? How do you create yours?

Answer: The best way to create a believable character, I believe is for you, the writer to get to know them. And, the best way to do that is the write down everything you can think that makes a human whole. Not all of this need to go into your book, or story, but it is there to bring them alive in your mind when you are writing about them. Starting with creating a name for your character, you can then decide on what they look like, through to their background information, what car they drive etc.

I start with deciding what sort of person my character i.e. male/ female, then first and second name. From here, I chose the basics hair, eyes and skin colours, tall, short, fat, thin etc. Already you are building up a picture of the sort of person they are, and once you start adding background information then they really coming alive. What sort of car would they chose to drive, where they live, if they are the sort to marry or remain single, and what are their likes, & dislikes? From here, I can decide how they would react to any given situations I put them into. In a sense, they are now people I know personally

9) Are you equally good at telling stories orally?

Answer: Yes, I would like to think I am a good storyteller, but if you are asking me to stand up, in front of a crowd. Then this is where my problems would begin as I’m quite a shy person, and nervous about being the centre of attention as it doesn’t come natural to me.

10) Deep down inside, whom do you write for?

Answer: Myself, up until ten years ago, I didn’t know I could write stories and to think I could write a novel or even articles for publication was beyond my wildest dreams. I left school with a basic education. Yes, I could read and write, but with no understand of English grammar. As for understand the tenses or passive and active voices I was at a lost. I hit a big milestone in my life and decided to prove to myself that it was possible to overcome the one thing that had held me back in life and kept me in dead end jobs. Not only have I found out I can write, but also the most astonishing thing is there are people out there who enjoy reading what I have to say.

There is more to come in another posting.... That's if anyone leave a comment saying they found it interesting enough to read it all.

P.S Dorothy, I'm having trouble finding a picture of myself... No luck, I'm afraid.lol.

Thank you for sharing a cuppa and a chat with me.

Best wishes,

Annie